


not bad, kid

by mysterytwin



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bonding, Gen, I just want them to be happy, because pacifica needs someone to take care of her, since her parents clearly don't know how, so here these two characters are, this assumes that filbrick abused stan as a child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 22:02:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9517961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysterytwin/pseuds/mysterytwin
Summary: After Stan finds Pacifica alone during the apocalypse, he takes her in. What he doesn’t realize is that they’ve both got bad experiences with their parents.





	

“You don’t happen to have any bells here, do you?” 

It was not her question that startled Stan. It was how small and _broken_ it sounded, cutting through the image of the young girl he’d built in his head. Steady, stubborn, and bratty. But now, she sounded just like…a kid. 

Like his kids. 

Like the twins when the other got sick, or when Mabel was too afraid of growing up. Or when Dipper got his heart broken by Wendy. 

“Mr. Pines?” Pacifica asked again. There she was now — the great Pacifica Northwest, the investment of her family — wearing a potato sack for a dress with wild hair falling past her shoulders. 

“Not that it matters, really,” she added quickly. “Just wanted to make sure.”

Stan shook his head. “We got one, the door that opens the gift shop. But it’s locked now, so you got nothing to worry about.”

They were in the middle of an apocalypse and all she thought about was if there were bells in the Shack? Seriously? 

(Though he doesn’t find it as a mistake to have taken her in. She reminded him of the twins. Wherever they may be, he hoped they were safe.)

“Why’d you ask?” he questioned as he settled down on the couch. Pacifica stood near the doorway, awkwardly looking at her fingers. She looked vulnerable, and it seemed a little unbelievable. “Got a fear of bells or somethin’?”

She shifted her weight from one leg to another. “Not exactly.”

Stan raised an eyebrow. He remembered how he’d found her, stranded in the middle of a garbage dump, and away from those parents of hers. It’s far away, but the hushed memory of eavesdropping Dipper as he told Mabel something (when they should’ve been _asleep_ , mind you) about the blonde heiress and bells flashed through his mind. Something related to her parents. 

“Your parents, huh?” he said. She looked terrified at the mention, but nodded stiffly. “They, uh, use the bell to control you?”

She nodded again and Stan’s heart dropped to his stomach. 

“Huh,” he muttered softly. Stan patted the empty space beside him on the couch. “Guess that’s one thing we have in common.”

She looked curious, but made no effort to move. “What do you mean?”

“Pacifica, was it? Gah, that’s too long. How ‘bout Paz? Lot easier to say, I s’pose.” He waited for her approval. She nodded, still a little frozen. 

“I didn’t have the best pa in the word, y’know. Guess you don’t, either,” he said, sort of speaking for the both of them. “And frankly, I know that it sucks.”

“My father is the best—”

“Kid, are you seriously kiddin’ me right now? It’s the end of the world — meaning what you say now, whether the truth or not, won’t really matter to those who survive. And even if I do survive, I ain’t gonna tell no one. Now come on. Trust me.”

Pacifica sighed. “He’s the worst,” she mumbled as she stepped forward. “The absolute worst. He thinks he can control me with that dumb bell of his…and as much as I don’t want to admit it, he’s right. I only resisted it once. Once. What kind of person does that make me?”

Stan thought for a moment before speaking. “A strong one, that’s what,” he said softly. “Stronger than I am.”

“You never fought back?” she asked. “Not even a little?”

“Once,” he said, and he sees the hope that latched itself into the young girl’s eyes, “but it didn’t matter.”

Her smile fell. “Why not?”

He laughed dryly. “Look at where I ended up. Family-less and alone. Broke out of my head. Useless.”

“Oh.”

Amidst his sadness, Stan looked up at her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Promise me one thing, kid.”

“As long as it’s nothing bad,” she said. “Or dumb.”

He took a deep breath. “Promise me you won’t end up like me.”

A word doesn’t leave her mouth for a moment. She pursed her lips, biting it. 

“I think I’d rather I did end up like you,” she spoke softly. “You know, rather than being what my parents want to be. At least you’ve Dipper and Mabel. That’s two people who care about you.”

He took it into consideration. “That’s only two people, kid.”

“There’s your butler, Soos,” she added. Pacifica didn’t meet his eyes. “And if it’s okay, Mr. Pines, I’d like to care about you, too. Just a bit. Nothing over the top, but enough for you to feel good about yourself.”

Stan beamed. “I’d like to care about you, too, Paz. If you’d let me.”

She mirrored his smile. “I’d like that very much.”

And for a moment, Stan saw a younger version of himself through her eyes and her smile. And he thought — maybe they could get through their pasts and move on from it. 

“What do you wanna be?” he asked. When you grow up? Not what your parents want you to be, but you yourself.”

She shrugged. “I…haven’t really thought about it. My parents don’t let me think about that. The only thing I’m good for is to take over the family business.”

“That’s what my pa said, too,” Stan agreed. “But I guess I never woulda been really good at it, y’know?”

“You handle your own shop,” she pointed out. “Made from scratch. I think that’s something. And something’s better than nothing.”

“Huh,” he said. “Fair point.”

“You’re welcome,” she quipped. “It’s not the best shop in the world, but it holds its own. Maybe your pa was wrong.”

Stan nodded. “Yours are, too. You’re better than what they shape you to be. You’re not as bratty as I thought. Not bad, kid.”

Pacifica grinned. “Thank you.” Her victory did not last long — a grumble from her stomach left her cheeks tainted a slight pink. “Sorry,” she said. “Do you have any food, by any chance?”

Stan only smiled wider. “Say, kid, you ever eaten a Stancake?”

**Author's Note:**

> hmu at superishs.tumblr.com!!


End file.
